Sunak’s core support
Finally, some good news for Rishi Sunak – Tory MPs may not want him on their election leaflets, but there is one core supporter who still celebrates his endorsement. Admittedly it’s the company that makes his abs exercise equipment of choice, but let’s not get picky. “One of his favourite at-home exercise tools has been unveiled as the Core Master,” gushes a press release, adding that the device is yours for just £99.95. It’s possible it was a gift, though. Given that it has been described as a “fitness torture machine”, Sunak’s MPs may have sent it to him as a thank you for the early election.
A sure thing
All bets on the election result are off, – apart from placed on a July poll, obviously. We’ll have to await the outcome of the Gambling Commission’s inquiries, but given a spike in betting alerted Labour HQ to the possibility of a snap poll, it’s shaping up to be the biggest political facepalm since Sunak forgot umbrellas existed. In the latest sign that the Tory party has morphed into an AI political banter generator, it even briefly released an attack ad on Labour featuring a roulette wheel and the tagline: “If you bet on Labour, you can never win”. What are the chances!
A turgid affair
A brief glimpse this week of that rarest of things - self-awareness among the political class. During England’s disjointed outing against Denmark in the Euros, Lib Dem Tim Farron suggested it was a good time to go canvassing. “I reckon people would be relieved to have the opportunity not to watch this utter rubbish, even if it meant talking to me,” he mused. Come to think of it, there are parallels between England’s struggles and those of the Tory election campaign: a lavishly funded team, struggling to string together a decent passage of play and enduring jeers even from their own supporters. And the England team haven’t pulled up any trees, either.
Johnson on tour
Reports suggested Boris Johnson might deign to help the prime minister by hitting the campaign trail in the red wall. So far, alas, his efforts have amounted to the odd candidate video endorsement, seemingly from his back garden. To be fair, Johnson has already travelled miles during the campaign – to Sardinia, on holiday. If his support for Sunak always felt unlikely, you may be surprised to learn that this week he also appointed himself the arbiter of whether Keir Starmer was prime ministerial material: Starmer was “simply not fit” for office after the Labour leader’s apparent preference for a Corbyn premiership over Johnson’s effort. Next up, Bernie Madoff assesses Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules.
